Integrity is a real pain in the arse – my integrity is always getting in my way.
I know, that’s a weird thing to say but it’s true – if I didn’t have integrity I would likely have doubled my followers in social media, grown my radio show in an epic way and not have spent two months being threatened with death and all sorts of other unpleasant happenings. BUT OH NO, freakin’ integrity gets in the way.
See, I could have jumped on that ol’ Trump Train like so many other mid-level pundits did but I chose not to. And believe me, when you work in any type of media you pick and choose what you will and will not “cover” for readers and listeners. Anyone telling you otherwise is delusional or full of it. But with Trump, there was just so much wrong with him and his campaign that even though it would have meant a far easier path in grassroots and lots and lots of mindlessly loyal “fans,” I couldn’t do it. Rant about Obamacare? Easy. Shake my fist at Planned Parenthood? Cake. Tell the world Trump is a conservative and our last hope? HELL NO.
I have watched other “pundits” who had a fraction of my listeners and readers “blossom” as Trump Champions, telling the world that Trump is this lion and that he will fight for us and how the majority is tired of the same old establishment and how Trump and only Trump will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN… see, I could easily say and write this crap and you know why? Because it IS crap, talking points that mean absolutely nothing with zero substance or what I like to call, rhetoric.
For years we have mocked the left and called them “bumper sticker people” because so many of their arguments were things you’d put on a bumper sticker or shout at a rally. HOPE AND CHANGE! YES WE CAN! And yet here we are on the right, with our very own bumper sticker people, grown and shaped by disingenuous Trump-worshiping pundits who care more about numbers than they do message or principle.
It would be so easy to stop caring about the bigger picture and things like integrity, principles, liberty, freedom and to write mindless garbage about how tough Trump is and how smart he is not to debate a loser like Cruz. It wouldn’t take me an hour to write a blog any more, I could just sit down and say things like, “THE SILENT MAJORITY IS PISSED OFF AND WE’RE TAKING OUR COUNTRY BACK,” and a bunch of angry people would shout HELL YEAH and share my blog everywhere.
But even knowing how much easier it would be, I don’t know that I could ever forgive myself for copping out and taking the easy road. In my opinion, once you have any sort of following you have a responsibility to the people who care enough about what you say or write to make sure you give them your best.
And my best would never include selling out my conservative ideals in the hopes of getting a few more readers or followers.
Ok, so maybe integrity isn’t such a bad thing – I guess I just wish more so-called pundits pushing Trump had a teensy bit more of their own.
Freedom Cocktail 